INDIANA, Pa. – Senior quarterback Tyson Bagent (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) completed 32-of-50 passes for 304 yards and pair of touchdowns, but #3/6 Shepherd (10-1) dropped a 24-21 decision to #19/16 Indiana (Pa.) (9-1) in PSAC Football Championship action at IUP on Saturday.
The Crimson Hawks took a 7-0 lead when Mak Sexton tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Daysure Stewart with 7:42 left in the first quarter.
Nick Andrasi connected on a 33-yard field goal with 7:25 left in the second quarter to give the Crimson Hawks a 10-0 lead.
Bagent teamed with junior wide receiver Rodney Dorsey (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora/Towson) on a six-yard scoring pass with 4:25 left in the half. Redshirt-sophomore kicker Jacob Haynie (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) added the extra point to cut the lead to 10-7.
Sexton tossed a 14-yard scoring pass to Daniel Deabner with 7:41 left in the third quarter to give the Crimson Hawks a 17-7 lead.
Sexton added a two-yard scoring toss to Cole Laney with 52 seconds left in the third quarter to up the lead to 24-7.
Junior running back Ronnie Brown (Baltimore, Md./Dundalk) scored on a one-yard plunge with 12:06 left in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 24-14.
Bagent teamed with junior wide receiver EJ Morgan (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy/James Madison) on a two-yard score with 1:46 left in regulation to cut the deficit to 24-21.
Indiana (Pa.) recovered Shepherd's onside kick attempt and ran out the clock to secure the win.
Sexton completed 19-of-29 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns for the Crimson Hawks.
Brown rushed eight times for 32 yards for the Rams. Adam Houser had 21 carries for 142 yards to lead IUP.
Junior wide receiver Marlon Cook (Forestville, Md./Potomac) had seven catches for 99 yards, and senior tight end Brian Walker (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) added six grabs for 69 yards to lead the Shepherd receivers. Deabner had five catches for 51 yards to lead IUP.
Shepherd had 357 yards of total offense while IUP had 353 yards.
Junior linebacker Dewayne Grantham (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg/Lackawanna) had a game-high 10 tackles (seven solos) to lead the Rams. Connor Kelly had seven stops to lead the Crimson Hawks.
Notes: Bagent had 325 yards of total offense in the game … he now has 34 career games with 300 yards or more of total offense to break the previous NCAA II record of 33 held by Stephen Gachette, Southwest Baptist (2007-10) … the Rams await work on postseason pairings … The NCAA Division II Football Selection Show will air this Sunday, November 13 at 5:30 PM ET on NCAA.com …the link to the show will be on the front page of NCAA.com.
